BY DAVE PRICE
Daily Post Editor
Deputies and sergeants in the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office will hold a no-confidence vote Monday (Sept. 9) on the department’s chief of staff, Victor Aenlle, who union leaders accuse of many improprieties and creating a “culture of fear.”
The boards of the Deputy Sheriff’s Association and the Organization of Sheriff’s Sergeants sent a 772-word letter to their members to explain their decision to seek the no confidence vote.
The Post emailed Aenlle to get his side of the story, and he said, “Providing a comment would be an exercise in futility.”
He also said, “For your benefit –– I did respond to the DSA/OSS letter, and I’m sure it will be leaked to you shortly.
Former Santa Clara County Judge LaDoris Cordell, who served as San Jose’s police auditor, is investigating several HR complaints, according to Supervisor David Canepa and deputies who have spoken to the Post. However it isn’t known if or when Cordell’s report will be released. She has declined comment.
The unions claim that Aenlle, who is a civilian, has been seen on numerous occasions wearing a “Chief of Staff” badge embossed with the number “1.” The unions point out that Aenlle is only a reserve deputy and that gold badges are reserved for full-fledged “sworn” deputy sheriffs.
“It appears to be an attempt to elevate himself to a position of authority that he has not earned,” the letter from the union board says.
The union says that Aenlle, though he has never been a sworn deputy, is requiring captains to report to him directly, ignoring the sheriff’s organizational chart. They say he has inserted himself into investigations.
“Victor is not a high-ranking law enforcement officer and never has been,” the letter says. “The DSA and OSS boards believe that his interference in matters outside of his civilian role is unacceptable and disrespectful to the sergeants, deputies and correctional officers.
The unions say that Aenlle is refusing to provide crime lab personnel with rain coats for assignments outdoors. “They are currently sharing one rain jacket when they are on call,” the letter said.
While Aenlle is unable to provide raincoats to the crime lab staff, in September 2023, he entered into a 10-year lease for a property at 686-690 Broadway in Redwood City. The building, with a rent of $35,687.50 a month not including utilities, was supposed to become a substation and daycare center. But Aenlle didn’t follow the county’s rules on acquisitions, the unions say.
“This oversight is believed to have cost the agency a significant amount of money, and there is still no estimated date of completion,” the letter said.
Information about the bungled lease is a tightly-kept secret in the county government. The Post filed public records requests for information about the property but was turned down.
The union boards say Aenlle’s personal behavior has been “reprehensible,” and that employees are afraid to cross him out of fear of retaliation.
“In one incident, he berated an employee during a goodbye party for her, causing her significant emotional distress and resulting in an HR complaint,” the letter said.
“Victor has, without a doubt, created a culture of fear,” the letter said.
“At a time when the sheriff’s office faces challenges that are not unique to other law enforcement agencies, Victor is a unique and intolerable problem for this agency. His behavior and actions are actively hurting this agency,” the letter said.
Concerns about Aenlle’s qualifications — a realtor and reserve deputy being elevated to the sheriff’s three-member command staff — have been raised since he was appointed by Sheriff Christina Corpus in 2023. Typically command staff members have decades of experience in all aspects of law enforcement.
As the Post first reported on Aug. 23, the unions have filed a complaint with the California Public Employment Relations Board. The board will consider the complaint, possibly hold a trial, and has the authority to order the sheriff’s office to pay financial penalties.
The unions are also upset with Corpus for imposing a new policy that increases the amount of overtime her officers must work. The policy was prompted by a severe staffing shortage. The unions say it was imposed on them without an opportunity to meet and confer with management in advance, as is required in their contracts.
Sheriff Corpus will hold a town hall-style meeting with her employees tomorrow in the department’s headquarters. The meeting isn’t open to the public.
“I have not seen anything come to me and I have not seen him act in a way that would be concerning,” Corpus said in a previous article.
In this article, the post says, “ Former Santa Clara County Judge LaDoris Cordell, who served as San Jose’s police auditor, is investigating several HR complaints, according to Supervisor David Canepa and deputies who have spoken to the Post.”
Palo Alto daily can you see how Corpus just lied to you guys and everyone else?! How can she not know that her #2 is being investigated by a former judge authorized by the board of supervisors? Is she that naive? I don’t think so. She flat out lied. A sheriff you can trust..
Was Victor the realtor for the building acquisition on Broadway? Why is a civilian driving a county car home that the tax payers pay for?
cmon….ask the real question.
What about the part where he requires people to address him as “Doctor”?? He’s a Doctoral CANDIDATE. Who was attending an online University that no longer exists.
I don’t think the Palo Alto daily has ever interviewed her. She went to the San Mateo journal which only asks softball questions.
But to answer your question —- obviously she lied.
Christina and Victor are being protected by the Board of Supervisors, particularly Ray Mueller, and the county manager Mike Callagy. Don’t you think it’s odd that this mess has been going on for two years and the board has pretended nothing was going on? And it’s interesting that the Palo Alto daily makes CPRAs for things like the lease on the Broadway building, and they deny it. I get the feeling the board hired LaDoris Cordell to take the heat off of them. She’ll make some boiler-plate criticisms in her report (like “communications must improve”), but afterward life will go on as usual with no changes. We really need an outside investigation by somebody with subpoena power who can charge law breakers. And maybe members of the BOS should be charged with aiding and abetting for protecting Christina all this time. Time for a recall!
I guess Christina Corpus doesn’t read the newspapers or perhaps her emails from HR. Maybe even the publicly posted law suits earlier on 2024 or even that organizational assessment posted in July. She is completely unaware of any complaints against Victor. Nothing he does has been unprofessional. Hmmm, ok I trust you zero now and have lost all respect in this woman. Anyone else with a slight complaint would have consequences but, now Victor Aenlle is above the law when he works for Christina. No consequences and lots of ignored lawsuits. Now negligent and dishonest and disruptive to law enforcement personnel. Pathetic actually and weak. Weak woman working for a weak little man.
I Concur
Not to mention the abrupt departure of Under Sheriff Chris Hsiung. He saw the writing on the wall and wanted no part of it.
I have great respect for the integrity and professional
courage displayed by the OSS and DSA in addressing Victor’s unethical and potentially criminal conduct. In the many years that I have worked in law enforcement, I have never seen an agency with worse leadership and such devastated morale. The DSA and OSS have made the decision to begin their action by addressing the issue of employee confidence in Victor, I feel that this does not go far enough. Those of us in law enforcement, work in a culture where we respect and support our leaders, especially executives. I would normally never openly criticize the sheriff, but respect and loyalty is earned and goes up and down the chain of command. Sheriff Corpus, Victor, Undersheriff Perea and Captain Fox continue to demonstrate a complete lack of respect for the men and women of the Sheriff’s Office. I guess they have forgotten that both the sworn and professional staff work long hours under difficult conditions to provide critical public safety services to San Mateo County. In addition to hard work, the sworn staff risk injury and even death every day that they are on duty. President Harry S Truman famously said “the buck stops here”. That saying applies to every leader and especially to our elected sheriff. Christina, the buck stops with you. You, and you alone are responsible for hiring and empowering Victor, Perea, Fox and the rest of your executive and management teams. These lawsuits, HR complaints and issues of employee dissatisfaction are caused by your lack of competence, your failure to show respect for your staff and your complete disregard for your responsibilities as the San Mateo County Sheriff. The actions of the OSS and DSA do not go far enough. Victor is allowed to do all that he has been accused of because Sheriff Corpus hired, empowered and supports him. I would urge the OSS and DSA to vote no confidence in Corpus. The Board of Supervisors needs to do their job and legislate proper policies to stop this travesty. Our District Attorney and Attorney General should investigate wether there has been criminal conduct in the Redwood City substation transaction and in the pay for play hiring practices of the Sheriff. The California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training should investigate wether Victor is acting in accordance with POST regulations when he wears a uniform, badge and gun and drives an emergency vehicle while employed as a civilian and not assigned to reserve deputy duties. Finally, the citizens of San Mateo County need to do their job and recall Sheriff Corpus and save the Sheriffs Office from her reign of terror and destruction.
If Corpus wants to save her career, she should fire the little man with the giant ego at once. Dan Perera should be shown the door as well. She should sit down with the DSA and the OSS and work out overtime issues in good faith. She should find a competent, qualified person within the SO and promote that person as Assistant Sheriff to run the Corrections bureau. The new UnderSheriff should also be picked from internal candidates. She won’t do this though, because she does not trust those serving under her, because she knows they do not trust her. Her blind loyalty to an angry, narcissistic little egomaniac has exacerbated this distrust. Nonetheless, Little Vicky’s law enforcement career is coming to an end. He will most likely not survive this firestorm, and once he is nothing but a normal Reserve Deputy again he will resign because his huge, giant, tremendous ego will not allow him to gracefully and loyally accept orders from those he currently abuses. Nor will the rank and file who has so often abused and bullied believe that they can depend on him, as all Deputies, Sergeants, and higher SO ranks mush be able to do on the job. And let’s be honest, no other law enforcement agency will have him! Getting rid of the cancer that calls itself the Chief of Staff is the first step towards healing the damage the Sheriff’s Office has suffered under Corpus’ reign.
Why did Corpus hire this guy? And why does she still keep him?
Everyone knows why she hired him but, you start to question what he has over her, that she is willing to jeapordize her career.
Here’s what the Sheriff thinks of all your claims:
As your Sheriff, I feel compelled to address some recent events and bring you the truth. As you may have seen in the media, some employees of this office have called out Victor Aenlle, Ph.D., the Chief of Staff, with multiple assertions that are simply not true. I’m going to call this what it is, character assassination. It is wrong and it needs to stop.
The Chief of Staff plays an important role in my administration. As a sworn peace officer of this Office for 16 years, he has extensive institutional knowledge. He also brings business acumen and has multiple advanced degrees in Criminal Justice, Organizational Leadership, and Ethical and Creative Leadership. He brings a unique perspective as the highest-ranking member of the professional staff who make up nearly half of this organization. The Chief of Staff has demonstrated the highest levels of professionalism and competence as we usher in this new era at the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.
I firmly believe these recent and strategic attacks on my Executive Team do not represent the majority of our organization and are a direct result of a select few who are resistant to change and the progress we are making as an Office. I have always said change is not easy. It takes time and the path is not linear.
Moving forward, I am calling on the political theater to stop. I want to make it crystal clear: I will continue to follow through on my commitment to the voters of San Mateo County to change this Office for the better, to provide public safety that is equitable, and to achieve transparency and accountability. Through all of this, I will not compromise on the safety of the residents of this County nor the well-being of the employees of this office.
Sincerely,
Sheriff Corpus
In other words, deny that the problem exists, and hope it will go away. It will be interesting to see how the numbers on the No Confidence vote on Little Man Aenelle pan out. It’s likely to be an overwhelming rejection of him. If she continues with this line of argument, the next logical step for the DSA/OSS will be a No Confidence vote on HER. Try explaining THAT to the voters Sheriff. The “few bad apples” argument does not carry much weight when the majority of the rank and file make a unified statement like that.
Look at the letter how she address her ” close friend” Victor Aenlle Ph.D, A guy with an online degree from an online shutdown University.
How can anyone, let alone our Sheriff with a straight face address him as doctor?? He was a RESERVE and couldn’t cut the mustard as a real cop. She completely ignores HR complaints as if they are not real.
Aenlle was undeservedly handed a role of a lifetime but he couldn’t hide who he was for long. This guy is a cancer.
Corpus ( under Aenlle’s direction) will to try and blame ,deflect, gaslight, The real ugly part is Corpus brushing off the grievances of deputies, it is absolutely disgusting.
Unions need to stand strong , Tapia has been the strongest. only wish more would have guts like him.
Be brave Unions. Stay focused on the end goals. Your courage matters don’t be intimidated by these retaliating behaviors. A sheriff may be elected but they are not above the law. The sheriff should care about stability in the department and will care about peaceful processes. The chief of staff is not above the law and these actions actually will have bearing. Not sire what nonsense Victor has filled the ears of Christina and Dan’s ear with now. This situation is a disgrace and so wrong.
According to the memo released by the Sheriff yesterday (but undoubtedly written by the good doctor himself) to the sworn staff, Dr. Vic has “16 years experience as a sworn peace officer.” Apparently neither Christina nor her sidekick are familiar with penal code 830.6(a)(1) that states his peace officer status only extends for the duration of the specific assignment. Since the good doctor has been too busy running the Sheriff’s Office for the past year and a half, he has not worked in the capacity as a volunteer reserve deputy for several years. Instead, he just likes wearing his fake badge to pretend he is a real peace officer. Go back to real estate, Dr. V. Leave the peace officer work to the men and women who actually earned their badges.
Talk about screwing up a good thing. She went into this position with the ability and backing to make some changes, especially with Chris H. there to assist. In return, she hires a clown who has zero experience, zero leadership skills, and doesn’t know his place. Fire this guy and start steering the ship back in the right direction. Bolanos is grinning from ear to ear watching her make a fool of herself.
It seems as if nothing will resonate with Cristina. She has deaf ears when speaking to her about Victor and he can do no wrong. In fact there is an open book to endless things he can do without consequences. This is a sad day to feel helpless and that an elected official does not care any longer about ethics, integrity and morals or values. What a shameless vial leader. Make me want to barf from the things everyone is enduring. It’s not just a few bad employees it is an ever growing departments of bothhard working men and women. The newspapers and HR and lawyers informed her of this problem starting MONTHS AGO! Sheriff ignored all of it. Obviously, she has something going on to be corrupt
Regarding the Vote of No Confidence for the civilian Executive Director of Administration Victor Aenlle, it is disturbing to realize that even though he is tearing this department apart with the reckless chaos he has created, Corpus still admires him and praises him, ignoring the concerns of the men and women in the department.
Aenlle is quoted in his interview with another local newspaper saying that, “They (sworn) think that the only people they need to report to or answer to have to be sworn and carry a big badge on them.” How arrogant! Little Hitler Victor obviously forgets that every Law Enforcement Agency is a paramilitary organization with a “sworn” chain of command in and across the State of California.
To explain the Vote of No Confidence, we are having difficulty with Aenlle as an inexperienced civilian believing he can friviously dictate anything he wants to the sworn staff. He has no working knowledge or experience within the organization or how the many bureaus or divisions operate. He has never worked his way up through the chain of command, so what gives him the knowledge, training and experience necessary to lead an 800 employee law enforcement agency?
“I am Chief” he says. You don’t get this experience as an unpaid volunteer reserve working at the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival or San Carlos Art and Wine Festival.
Aenlle said he no longer served in a reserve deputy capacity, but maintained “you don’t stop wearing the badge” as quoted in another interview which he thinks entitles him to his fake badge, gun and uniform as a civilian employee. How is that if he is still allowed to play dress up with a gun and a badge if he is no longer a reserve.
A Vote of No Confidence allows the unions representing the 800 employees to voice their concerns. Nepotism at its best, Little Hitler Aenlle’s civilian appointment by Corpus is an insult and to all of the dedicated Deputies, Correctional Officers, Sergeants and Lieutenants that face danger every day; those sworn law enforcement officers that are willing to take a bullet for us, that protect our children in schools, take illegal guns and drugs off the streets, work the stinky nasty jails, wipe the feces off the jail cell windows, and in their next assignment scrape the bodies of adults and teenagers off the railroad tracks. Again, if he’s never done it . . .
County Manager Mike Callagy and the Board of Supervisors have some explaining to do.
For everyone doing math at home. Sheriff corpus told all of us ignorant people that only a select few were “attacking” her cute little doctor Vicky PhD, chief of staff. I guess over three hundred employees voting for a vote of no confidence is “a select few” engaging in attacking poor DR Vicky’s character. When the vote only has 12 people defending the cute little guy, I guess 300 can be a select few? Seems like it’s time to send the little doctor back to the world of real estate. The sheriff and her little elf need to get lost. Time to go. Bye.
The Deputies and Sergeants, who are the backbone of the Sheriff’s Office, have spoken in an overwhelmingly united voice. Corpus can no longer ignore the problem while maintaining any credibility. It’s time for her to fire Aenelle. If she does not, the next No Confidence vote should be a referendum on HER leadership. I’m pretty sure that the results would be nearly identical at this point, and that would seem difficult to explain the voting public. It seems a pretty sure bet that she will be challenged at the next election. This will not be a record she can successfully run on.
The article fails to mention the rapid departures of Undersheriff Chris Hsiung, Coastside Captain Rebecca Albin, and several others. IMO, they saw the writing on the wall with Aenlle’s fly by the seat of his pants chaos leadership style and wanted no part of it.